One hot ticket: NASA asks for names to send to the sun

by MARCIA DUNN , AP Aerospace Writer

This illustration from NASA shows Parker Solar Probe spacecraft approaching the sun. NASA is accepting online submissions until April 27, 2018, for sending your name on the spacecraft all the way to the sun. (NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben via AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA will fly you to the sun — or at least your name.

Once launched this summer from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the probe will eventually come within 4 million miles of our star, closer than any other spacecraft. Temperatures will reach 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, as the spacecraft zips in and out of this atmospheric hot zone. Until now, the materials for such a grueling journey were unavailable.

Actor William Shatner, who portrayed Capt. James Kirk in the old "Star Trek" TV series, is NASA's pitchman for the send-your-name-to-the-sun campaign.